Partially completed Perth residential build at progress claim stage

Progress Claims and Variations Perth

Accurate progress claims and variation pricing prepared against the contract to protect your margin. Perth residential and commercial builders and subbies.

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18+ years experience
First estimate free
24hr turnaround
No lock-in contract

Where Builders Lose Margin

Progress claims and variations are where a lot of Perth builders and subbies lose margin without realising it. A claim that is poorly documented gets reduced. A variation that is priced off the cuff gets disputed and whittled down. A delay that is not formally notified loses its entitlement to an extension of time.

We prepare progress claims and variation submissions for Perth builders and subcontractors, priced against the contract, backed by evidence and written in a way that is hard to dispute.

Printed claim schedule on a desk with a calculator, a pen and a stack of site photographs

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Progress Claim Preparation

A progress claim under an AS 2124, AS 4000 or HIA/MBA contract needs to demonstrate the value of work completed to date and compare it to amounts previously certified and paid. Getting that structure right matters because a poorly presented claim gives the superintendent a reason to certify a lower value.

Claim Component	What It Contains	Why It Matters
Completed works value	% complete by trade item against BoQ or schedule of rates	Basis for certification, must be defensible
Previously certified	Prior payment certificates and amounts paid	Reconciliation prevents double-claiming or missing claimed amounts
Variations claimed	Approved and unapproved variations by item	Separating variation from contract sum is essential
Retention release	Retention amount held and release milestones	Practical completion triggers retention release under most contracts
Delays and EOTs	Extension of time notifications if relevant	Failure to notify within contract timeframe loses entitlement
Materials on site	Plant and materials stored on site but not yet incorporated	Allowed under some contracts with delivery evidence

Standard progress claim components. Contract-specific requirements take precedence, AS 2124, AS 4000 and domestic building contracts all have different claim provisions.

What Is a Progress Claim?

A progress claim is a formal request for payment for work completed during a specified period, submitted under the terms of a construction contract. In Western Australia, progress claims on construction projects over a threshold value are also regulated under the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021. A correctly prepared progress claim establishes the claimable amount and creates the contract mechanism for payment.

Evidence Beats Opinion

Most claims get cut back for the same reason. The claim says a trade is eighty per cent complete and there is nothing in the document showing why that is the right number.

Assess it against the bill of quantities instead and the conversation changes. You are no longer arguing about a feeling, you are pointing at measured work that either exists on site or does not.

What Goes in with the Claim

Percentage complete assessed line by line against the BoQ
Dated site photographs of the work being claimed
Materials on site listed and valued separately
Approved variations shown as their own items
Retention and previous certifications carried correctly
Delivery dockets and supplier invoices where relevant
The contract clause the claim is made under
A clean running total that reconciles to the last claim

Partly completed residential building site with finished work in the foreground and a measuring tape on stacked bricks — A percentage complete figure is an opinion until it is tied to measured work. Then it is a number the certifier has to deal with.

BoQ

Assessed against

Line by line

SOPA

WA payment framework

Claims prepared to suit

24hr

Usual turnaround

Straightforward claims

Free

First job

No lock-in contract

Australian construction site late in a build with scaffolding coming down on a rendered building

The Money Is Lost Before the Argument Starts

By the time a claim is in dispute, the damage is usually months old. The variation was done on a nod, the delay notice was never sent, the extra work was never priced.

None of that is recoverable by arguing harder at the end. It is recoverable by writing it down at the time, in the form the contract asks for, while everyone still agrees on what happened.

That is the habit we are really selling here. The paperwork is not admin, it is the only version of events that survives once the job is finished.

Variation Pricing and Submission

Variations are where margin is made or lost on a construction project. An instruction from the principal, architect or engineer to carry out work outside the contract scope is a variation entitlement. Getting it priced and submitted correctly determines whether you recover the full cost.

What Makes a Variation Submission Hold Up

Written instruction or direction from the principal, architect or superintendent
Clear description of the varied work and how it differs from the contract scope
Quantities measured from the direction or marked-up drawings
Labour, material and plant rates consistent with the contract or with current market evidence
Margin and overhead allowance stated separately if the contract allows it
Submission within the timeframe specified in the contract
Reference to the relevant contract clause authorising the variation

SOP Act 2021

Payment protection

Contract

Clause references

AS 2124 / AS 4000 / HIA

Priced

Market rate evidence

Defensible claim

24hr

Response

Most queries

Extension of Time Claims

A delay caused by the principal, architect or unforeseen conditions may entitle you to an extension of time under the construction contract. The entitlement is only preserved if you notify within the timeframe specified in the contract, which is often 14-28 days from the delay event.

We prepare extension of time notices and delay cost claims for Perth builders and subbies, identifying the entitlement, quantifying the delay impact and presenting the claim in a format that meets the contract requirements.

Notice Periods: Miss Them and You Lose the Entitlement

Most construction contracts in WA require a written delay notice within 14-28 days of the delay event. If you do not give notice in time, you may lose the right to an extension of time regardless of how genuine the delay was. Talk to us early if a delay is occurring, not after the program has slipped by six weeks.

01
Contract and Documents Reviewed
We review the contract, the original program and the delay event documentation to confirm the entitlement basis.
02
Delay Quantified
Delay impact on the critical path measured from the program. We identify which activities were affected and by how long.
03
Costs Calculated
Delay costs calculated against the contract rates or current WA market, covering extended preliminaries, additional supervision and plant standing time.
04
Claim Drafted
Extension of time notice and delay cost claim drafted with contract clause references and supporting evidence.
05
Submitted for Review
We deliver the claim for your review before submission. You know what we are claiming and why before it goes to the superintendent.

Common Questions

Straight answers on how we price progress claims and variations in Perth. If yours is not here, send your plans and just ask.

The Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 provides a rapid adjudication process for payment disputes on construction projects in Western Australia. It allows a claimant to serve a payment claim and, if the respondent does not pay or provides a payment schedule that disputes the amount, to refer the dispute to adjudication. We prepare the payment claim documentation, the adjudication itself is a legal process.

Yes. If a principal or superintendent has certified a lower amount than claimed, we can review the payment schedule, identify the disputed items and prepare the supporting documentation to respond to the dispute.

Yes, but it is harder. A variation priced before the work starts has more credibility than one priced from a reconstruction after the fact. If the work is already done, we price it from whatever evidence is available, site photos, delivery dockets, labour timesheets, and we are clear about where the evidence is strong and where it is not.

Yes. Most of our variation work is for subcontractors, bricklayers, concreters, plasterers and tilers whose contract is with the head contractor, not the principal. The process is the same, identify the instruction, quantify the work, price it correctly and submit it in time.

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